A cobpobation oe con



T. J. SEWARD.

MARKING INSULATED WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.5. 1915.

1 ,1 94,245 v Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

CABLE COMPANY, NECTICUT.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that'I, THOMAS J. SEWARD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at' the city of Bridgeport,county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certaln new anduseful Improvements in Marking Insulated Wire; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The present invention pertains to an improved marking for insulatedwire, and to 4 the method of producing such marking.

Insulated wires or wire cables are not readily marked, and the presentinvention has for its object to provide a" simple and eflicient methodwhereby the cable or sheathed wire may be easily marked, and thatwithout injury to the fibers or threads which form the outer coveringfor the wire.

Several means have heretofore been devised for placing indicating marksupon the sheathing of the wire, as for instance, coloring certainportions of the threads which enmanxme msunargp WIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ter into the braided covering, which colored portions, owing to theirposition in the covering produce certain designations or marks. Undersuch process it is necessary that the color be such as to contrast withthe main body of the sheathing or covering, and where the wire and. itssheathing. are subjected to treatment by an insulating compound, usuallydark, such marking would be obliterated. Under the present process nosuch previous formation or marking of the threads, which enter into thesheathing- (usually braided) is necessary, and the is illustrated in theannexed drawings,

' wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in sec- I THOMAS J'. SEWARD, OFBRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRIC OI IBBIDGEPORT,CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- tion, of the machine; Fig. 2 anenlarged elevation of the two grooved wheels employed; and Fig. 3 anelevation of a section of the insulated wire, with the marking impressedtherein.

In the drawings, 1 denotes a standard,"

surmounting a suitable base 2, the standard having ournaled thereon awheel 3, provlded wlth a peripheral groove 4, semi-circular incross-section. Fulcrumed upon the Patented Aug. 8, 31916. ipplioationflled October 5, 1915. Serial N6. 54,231.

in, the outer face of the die conforming to a the contour of the groove7 and carrying type or other designating markers, which projectoutwardly to a slight extent from the face of the die, such type beingshown in Fig. 2 but omitted from Fig. 1, owing to the fact that they arerelatively small and incapable of being clearly shown in said figure.The rear or opposite end of the arm or lever 5, or an extension or arm 5thereof, carries an adjustable counterweight 10, whereby the pressure ofthe wheel' or roll 6,

and consequently the die, upon the wire or cable 8 may be regulated asrequired.- While but one die is shown, it is evident that any number maybe mounted upon the wheel 6, and consequently the impression made uponthe wireor cable spaced as desired.

Secured to the standard 1 is a guide or quill 11, through which the.cable is passed from any suitable source'of supply to and between theWheels 3 and 6, the Wire being, of course, seated in the grooves of thewheels and drawn forwardly between the same as it is wound upon a spoolor reel, not shown.

In order to prevent the die from injuring or cutting the insulation, ormore strictly speaking, the threads which are braided upon the outersurface thereof, the wire is run between the wheels while the insulatingmaterial, with which the braided covering is impregnated, is still soft.In this way, the die may slightly distort-or push aside the fibers orthreads, and thus not cut the same, as is likely to be the case wherethe material in which the threads are embedded or by which they aretreated becomes hard, or relatively so. The marking of the materialwhile in this relatively soft state also has the advantage of notdulling the dies, inasmuch as the material readily flows therefrom underpressure.

The marking produced upon the wire or cable is almost indestructible andpermanent; there are no protrusions formed upon the Wire and, as juststated, the-insulation as such is not injured. Not only can the size ofthe wire be imprinted thereon, but the trade name of the wire and thename of the manufacturer may also be placed thereon, and this at anydesired intervals. Again, the operation of marking the wire is acontinuous one, and after the feed of the Wire is started it need not bestopped until the supply thereof is exhausted.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: r

1. The method of marking preformed i11- sulated wire having a fibrouscovering impregnated and coated with insulating material, which consistsin indenting a designating mark into the outer face of the insulatingcovering while the insulating material is in a relatively soft state orcondition.

2. The method of marking preformed insulated wire, which consists inpassing such wire into operative relation with a periodically-actingindenting or marking die, and thereby impressing 1n the insulatingsurface, and without reformation of the insulating body, a series ofdesignating marks.

3. The method of marking insulated wire, having a fibrous coveringimpregnated with insulating material, which consists in indenting adesignating mark into the outer face of the insulating covering whilethe insulating material is in a relatlv'ely soft state or condition,whereby the fibers or threads of the covering will be displacedsufiiciently to prevent injury thereto.

4. The method of marking insulated wire, having a braided exteriortreated with an insulating compound, which consists in indenting orimpressing the outer surface thereof while the insulating compound is ina relatively soft condition, and thethreads of the braided portion arefree to move under the action of the indenting or impressing element.

5. The herein-described process of marking preformed insulated wire,consisting in impressing, and without reformation of the insulatingbody, identifying marks at intervals through its length, while theinsulating material is in such condition that it is free to be slightlydisplaced and to maintain such displacement without further treat mentupon the withdrawal of the indenting or impressing element.

6. The method of marking preformed insulated wire, which consists infeeding the wire, while the insulation is in a relatively soft state, tomarking means; subjecting said wire intermittently, during the feedingoperation, to the action of such means; and removing the latter from thewire at all times except during the periods of marking.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS J. SEWARD.

Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, Jrz, M. T. LONGDEN.

